2007年VOA标准英语-New, Faster Diagnosis of Meningitis Can Save Li

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
04 January 2007
 
watch Meningitis in Children

 
Meningitis can be infectious, particularly when the disease is spread among large groups of people living in crowded conditions.  It is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where outbreaks of bacterial¹ meningitis are blamed for thousands of deaths.  Young children and the elderly are most susceptible² to the disease. A quick diagnosis³ of whether the illness is viral or bacterial is critical to effective treatment.  VOA's Melinda Smith has more on a new technique which speeds up the process.

Wherever little children gather, germs are sure to follow. In most cases, the viruses that are spread through close contact are easily treatable.  But when children experience symptoms such as a stiff neck, high fever, headaches and sensitivity to light, or vomiting⁴, bacterial meningitis may be suspected.

When one child was admitted recently to Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts she was tested for meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes⁵ surrounding the brain and spinal⁶ cord. 

 
Dr. Lise Nigrovic
Dr. Lise Nigrovic, with the emergency medical department at the hospital, says time can be significant in telling the difference between viral and bacterial meningitis. "Bacterial meningitis is a potentially life-threatening and serious condition which requires intravenous antibiotics⁸ at hospital admission."

As a precaution, doctors have frequently given patients antibiotics to counter the more deadly bacterial form while they wait for results of the bacterial culture.  That can often take two to three days. 

Dr. Nigrovic says a child with viral meningitis may receive a stronger dose of antibiotic⁷ than he or she needs. "Intravenous antibiotics are not helpful to viral meningitis.  And the overuse of antibiotics for vital infections has the potential to increase resistance over time."

So researchers at Children's Hospital and 19 other pediatric medical centers in the U.S. have adopted a list of risk factors to help them make the correct diagnosis. First among them, a physician's observation of symptoms, then a blood test and three specimens⁹ of spinal fluid.  Laboratory results were produced in minutes, not days. The rate among low-risk children proved to be 99 percent accurate, thereby¹⁰ eliminating the need for antibiotics and for keeping children hospitalized longer than necessary.

That was good news to parents, such as Jay Smith. "Bacterial meningitis is something that scares me as a parent and most parents, so if they had something that can help differentiate¹¹ the two I'd be comfortable with that."

There are several vaccines¹² available for routine prevention of meningitis.  Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Sudan, offer these vaccines to the general population.  But according to the World Health Organization, routine immunization in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa is less effective beyond three to five years, and cannot be used on children under the age of two.  Researchers are hoping this new method of risk assessment¹³ will help save many more lives.

1 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

2 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

3 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

4 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

5 membranes   

n.（动物或植物体内的）薄膜( membrane的名词复数 )；隔膜；（可起防水、防风等作用的）膜状物

参考例句：

• The waste material is placed in cells with permeable membranes. 废液置于有渗透膜的槽中。 来自辞典例句
• The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a system of intracellular membranes. 肌浆网属于细胞内膜系统。 来自辞典例句

6 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

7 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

8 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

9 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

11 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

12 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

13 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？